I Found A New Way To Heal
by lunettawolf321
Summary: This is a George Weasley story. it takes place a few months after voldemort is defeated. it is a romance. and the rating is just for precautions.
1. Full Moon Cafe

**A/N: Alright! This is a REDONE VERSION of my first story on here. I was unhappy with how it was previously written so I'm going back and redoing the chapters. I'm hoping this will remove the giant writers block I've had. It's pretty much the same chapter as before, just with little variations here and there. Also, I've made it a little longer. This is a George Weasley and one of my own characters story. It takes place a few months after Harry defeats Voldemort. Those who had died have already had their funerals and at this point the wizarding community is trying to rebuild itself. And by the way, the story will switch from Georges point of view, to my characters.**

**I do not own anything by J K Rowling**

_**Chapter One: Full Moon Café**_

A few months ago, George Weasley would never have thought twice about walking down an empty street alone. In fact, a few months ago, his mother probably would have rung his neck for even suggesting it. But now, George could strut his stuff down any dark dank street he wanted. Not that he did want to.

A few months ago, George had been a twin. He and his brother Fred had been inseparable. They had been masters at pulling pranks and creating bigger and better ways to help the future trouble makers of the world. But George was no longer a twin. Fred had been killed during that final battle. Now George was alone.

Well, not entirely alone. He still had his parents and the rest of his friends and family. But for some reason, at times that just wasn't enough. George couldn't stand waking up in the mornings and heading off to the joke shop alone. It had been his and Fred's dream. Now only he got to see just how successful their shop would become.

The good news was, tonight was the first night since the funeral George had gone out alone. As his mother had said to his father when they thought he couldn't hear, their boy was finally making progress. _Yes,_ he thought, _I am getting better._ George looked around at the shops. _Well, slightly better. _He hadn't been able to convince himself to stay in the wizarding world tonight. Everyone was still rebuilding their lives from the war. He couldn't be around all those reminders. So George had decided to spend his night out in the muggle world. Tonight he could finally get away from it all.

George stopped when he heard the sound of soft jazz music drifting from somewhere up the street. _That actually sounds kind of relaxing._ He thought. George walked over to where the music was coming from. He looked up to a sign that read _Full Moon Café_ in large curvy letters. George glanced through the window of the café. It wasn't large inside. George walked up to the entrance and went in.

A small bell jingled as the door swung open. A young girl with short blond hair got up from where she was sitting and walked over to him.

"Hello, Welcome to the Full Moon Café. Follow me and I'll seat you." George smiled at the girl and followed her to a small booth in the far corner of the small café.

"Is this to your liking, sir?" she asked, pointing to the booth. George nodded and thanked the girl. She set a small menu down on the table and walked away. He sat down and looked around. The Full Moon Café was dimly lit and the radio that was playing the jazz music was crammed in corner of the restaurant on a small rickety table. The side of the café George was on was lined with small red booths, some of which were worn in several places. The middle of the café though, was filled with small tables made of a dark wood. George looked to the far side of the room. A small stage was taking up most of the space over there. George looked back to the middle of the café. Only two other customers were in here with him. One, an older man who had his face buried in a book, and the other, a young woman who seemed very preoccupied with pushing around the food on her plate.

"What can I get you, sir?" a voice asked. George jumped. He looked up to see a very pretty girl smiling at him. She was very thin and had long ginger hair that fell almost to her knees and big blue eyes. She was holding a pencil and a note pad.

"Sir?" she cocked her head to the side.

"Oh, um," George looked down at the menu the blond had set down. He really wasn't hungry, he hadn't had much of an appetite these past few weeks. "I'll have a cup of coffee please."

She smiled at him before walking off. George ran his hand through his hair. She had a brilliant smile. She didn't show her teeth when she smiled, but George could see dimples on either side of her face.

"Here's your coffee," he heard her say. She set the steaming mug down in front of him, "can I get you anything else?"

"No thanks," he said. He looked up at her. Her voice was like a tinkling bell. "What's the stage for?" he asked. She looked over at the stage and smiled again.

"On some nights, Pop let's people sing."

"Really?" George smiled. He could tell from her voice that this girl really enjoyed the privilege of singing on that stage.

"Yea. We always get real big crowds on those nights." She had an accent, George realized.

"Are you—"

"American? Yea," she smiled at George, "I'm from Virginia. I just moved here with my sister about a year ago."

George took a sip of his coffee, wincing as it burned his tongue. "Why'd you move?" he asked. George was surprised. Tonight was turning out okay. This girl was interesting, and her smile made him warm up inside. The girl moved a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Our mother lived here." She said. George noticed how some of this girl's openness faded away when she mentioned her mother. He decided to change the subject.

"You know, I believe as my waitress, you are supposed to tell me your name." he said. She smiled at him.

"It's Lunetta," _Lunetta._ It was an interesting name. "And may I ask what your name might be?" George looked down into his barely touched coffee. He remembered when he and Fred used to go down into town to flirt with the local muggle girls. He felt strange, doing it by himself this time.

"George, my names George."

"Well, George," she pulled the notepad out of her apron and started to write, "I hope to see you here again. I love it when we get a new regular." She set a piece of paper down onto the table, and walked away. George picked it up and read,

_Its $2.50 for the coffee, just pay the girl at the door before you leave, come back soon!_

George smiled as he pulled out his wallet. He had a feeling making progress wouldn't be so hard after all.

**A/N: Alright so that was the first chapter. Please review and tell me what thought. I'll update soon, promise!**


	2. Caffeine Helps The Pain

**A/N: So here's the second chapter, redone. FYI, each chapter will begin with a recap of what has happened in the last chapter. I'm going to do this mostly to refresh your memory if I happen to take a long time to update. Thanks to all those who read and reviewed!**

**I do not own anything by J K Rowling**

_Recap:_ _George had finally managed to gather up the will to go somewhere for the night. After walking around the muggle world he found a small café where he met a young waitress. _

_**Chapter 2: Caffeine Helps The Pain**_

"Georgie, come down for breakfast!"

George groaned, than rolled over in his bed. He hadn't slept well last night. If he was being honest, he hadn't slept well for months. The memory of his brother and friends dying would replay over and over in his head at night. George threw the covers off of him and got up. He walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out jeans and a fresh shirt. _Maybe a shower will help? _A shower probably would help. He always woke up with a pounding headache. The shower would make the pain go away. But by the afternoon, it would be back. And it would be worse than ever.

George crossed the hall to the bathroom. He turned the hot water on, undressed, then stepped into the shower. He let out a slow breath as the hot water ran over his body, relaxing his muscles and causing his headache to slowly ebb away. _Last night wasn't all bad though _he thought.

Last night, during one of the rare breaks from his reoccurring hell dream, George had thought of the waitress from the Full Moon Café. Seeing her smile and talking with her, George had felt happy for the first time since Fred had died. George ran his hands through his soaking hair. He ran his hand over the hole where his ear had been.

George finished his shower and shut the water off. He grabbed his wand and summoned a towel from the closet in the bathroom and dried off. He could hear his family in the kitchen below. His mother and father were speaking about something…with Percy if he was correct. George laughed bitterly to himself. Percy had come back into the family just moments before Fred had left.

George got dressed then made his way down to the kitchen. The smell of bacon and eggs greeted him at the bottom of the staircase. George inhaled deeply and smiled. Mornings with the family could make up for any lousy night.

"I was wondering when you were coming down." His mother said. His mother, Molly Weasley, was one of the most caring women in the world. She took it upon herself to mother any person she came into contact with. Molly also happened to be very observant. George smiled to himself as his mother took in every inch of his face. He knew she was hoping to find some trace of progress from last nights adventure. He smiled. He would tell her about it after breakfast. George sat down beside his his sister, Ginny, and grabbed a plate. He listened to the conversations floating around the table as he filled his plate with sausages and eggs. Percy was discussing something about the ministry with his father. Ginny was arguing with Ron about something involving Harry. George wasn't entirely sure, but it sounded as if Ron was informing Ginny on the _appropriate_ time for their little sister to get back from a date. George listened as Ginny threatened Ron with bodily harm if he tried to meddle with her and Harry's dating life. He bit his lip to stop from laughing at the two.

"So George, how was your night out?" his mother asked. George looked up from the table where he was stacking up dirty dishes. It was just his mother, his father, and he left in the kitchen. The others had already left to go help with Hogwarts' rebuilding.

"S'okay, pretty good actually," he answered. George smiled when his mother spun around, eyes wide, from her spot at the sink.

"Really, George?" his father asked. Arthur Weasley was a thin man, still balding, who wore glasses. He was obsessed with muggle things. George knew his father had been extremely worried about him lately. He'd heard him tell his mother that he thought George was _depressed _and that he _needed help._ George felt angry that his father thought he needed someone to _help_ him. He wasn't a child anymore and he could take care of himself. He was also a little hurt. Didn't his father trust him to not get so low that he couldn't pull himself back up again?

"Yea, it was. "He answered.

"What did you do?" his mother asked. George watched as she waved her wand around, causing the dishes and silverware from breakfast to fly across the room and land in sink. She waved her wand again and the dishes started to clean themselves.

"I went to muggle London, walked around for a little while, and then I stopped at a café." George smiled when he thought of the café. _It wouldn't hurt to stop and have some coffee again soon._ He thought. Lunetta had asked him to stop by again, to become a regular, she had said.

"What café?" His mother asked.

"Just this little one. It was kind of cramped and old looking, but the people there were really friendly." George said.

"It sounds like you enjoyed yourself. Are you going to go out again sometime soon?" his father asked. George thought about it for a moment. Last night was the first time he had ended the day in high spirits. He knew a part of him, a large part, was craving that ecstatic feeling Lunetta left him with after that one conversation. But another part didn't want to risk it. It was like he was afraid of getting hurt. A part of him didn't believe he could handle any more pain.

"Tonight, actually." He told his father.

George felt like an addict. He could feel the part of his body that yearned for Lunetta's smile roaring in triumph. _How can one person become so obsessed so fast? _Maybe it wasn't Lunetta who he was obsessed with. Maybe it was just the elated feeling she gave him. _That has to be the answer._ George thought. He wasn't the type to fall so hard over one girl. He was vulnerable, though he hated to admit it. And vulnerability caused rash reactions.

George walked down the slightly familiar street towards that small little café. There was no sound of soft jazz tonight, just the sound of voices, laughing at whatever was going on. As he reached the front door of the coffee shop he saw that it was much more crowded than it had been the night before. A petite girl with curly brown hair was walking around the tables. _Was Lunetta not working tonight? _George reminded himself he was not the type to become obsessed with strangers, and walked through the door. As the bell jingled, the hostess from last night walked up to greet him.

"Hey there! You're the guy from last night. Want your table?" She asked. George laughed slightly to himself. It was only his second night here and they'd already dubbed it _his table_.

George nodded and smiled. He followed her through the crowd, trying not to bump into anyone. She lead him over to the same small booth.

"Your waitress will be here shortly." He smiled at her as she set the menu down and left. He sat down in the booth and looked around.

"Well, well, Mr. George, glad to see you came back." A voice said. He turned around to see Lunetta smiling at him, notepad in hand.

"You did say you wanted a new regular." He said, smiling back. Lunetta smiled wider, her dimples even more present on her cheeks. Lunetta's hair was braided today, with two strands spiraling down on either side of her face.

"Coffee?" she asked. George nodded. Something told him he would soon become addicted to the beverage. That is, if the more hesitant side of him didn't win out. _Oh well, _he thought, _I'm sure someone some where has said that caffeine helps heal your pain._

**A/N: Alright that's chapter two, i hope you liked it. please review, it would be much appreciated. I'll update soon!**


	3. I Hate Magic

**A/N: PLEASE READ THIS IT'S VERY IMPORTANT - Okay so out of the three chapters I had to redo, this one had A LOT of stuff changed. This is the chapter that caused me to stop this story for so long. I was really unhappy with it and that kind of killed my muse. SO if you didn't reread the first two chapters that's fine, but this chapter wont be the same as it was before at all so I recommend rereading this one if you have read it before.**

**I do not own anything by J K Rowling, but I do own the characters Lunetta and Saffir (pronounced sah-fear)**

_Recap: __George told his parents about his new fave coffee spot. He also discovers he may be developing a bit of an obsession with his beloved red-haired waitress, or is it just the happiness he craves..._

_**Chapter Three: I Hate Magic**_

Lunetta rolled over onto her back and attempted to stretch.

Attempt being the key word.

Lunetta sighed in frustration. Sometime during the night she had become tangled up in her sheets. She kicked her feet wildly trying to free herself.

Nothing.

Such a horrible dilemma for a horribly lazy person.

"Sissy!" she yelled.

A woman in her late twenties walked into the room. Well, woman probably wasn't the best way to describe her. In Lunetta's mind, a woman was a very sophisticated, level-headed, girl who preferred to always mature and resposible. Lunetta's sister, Saffir, was far from a woman. Saffir was a rebel. Her shoulder-length black hair had electric blue streaks throughout it and her eyebrow and nose were both pierced. Saffir's wardrobe consisted of skirts and halter tops, all of which were either leather or had spikes and chains hanging from them. That is, everything except her work clothes. Saffir worked in the Full Moon Café with Lunetta. Saffir was the head cook, whereas Lunetta was the head waitress. The girls were Pop's two favorite employees, though he told them not to the others.

"What is it, 'Netta?" she asked.

Lunetta pouted, pointed down to her poor, ensnared legs, and whined, "I'm stuck!"

Saffir let out an exasperated sigh. "These are the times I wish I were an only child," she muttered.

Lunetta stuck out her tongue. "Just help me."

Saffir crossed the room and helped Lunetta free herself. "Get out of bed, 'Netta." she said, helping Lunetta up from the bed, "We've got a busy day ahead of us." Lunetta didn't respond. She just walked over to the small mirror hanging on the wall and pulled her hair out of its ponytail.

"Don't take it down;" Saffir said from the doorway, "we're running behind enough as it is. We don't have time for you to do your hair." Saffir left the room. Lunetta heard her messing around in the kitchen. Lunetta smiled to herself. She ran a brush through her knotted hair, got dressed, and went out to the kitchen. Saffir was just grabbing toast from the toaster as she walked in.

"Did you burn it this time?" She asked from the doorway. Saffir turned around and stuck her tongue out.

"Just because I slightly burned it last time does not mean I'm going to burn it every time." She said.

"_Slightly burned it?_," Lunetta said walking over and taking her piece from her sister, "Saffir, you murdered that poor piece of bread."

Saffir gave her sister a dirty look, and continued eating.

They stood there in silence for a minute as each of them finished their humble breakfast.

"So," she said, "it's your turn to pick." Saffir pointed to a small list stuck to the refrigerator by a couple of alphabet magnets.

Lunetta groaned. Every two weeks or so Saffir would make a list of what needed to be done around their small apartment. The so called "Sissy-do-list" consisted of what was in desperate need of a good cleaning, what food needed to be bought, and any other things Saffir thought were worthy enough of her infamous list. Usually, Saffir would just tear the list in two and hand Lunetta the least challenging half. At first, Lunetta had taken this as an insult. But after a while, Lunetta realized that the less she had to do, the less her laziness and short attention span could mess up. Lately though, Saffir had been insisting that Lunetta choose one of the more difficult jobs to go along with her list. Lunetta wasn't sure if this was Saffir's attempt to get her to try a little harder, or if she just really liked torturing her little sister.

Lunetta set her toast down on the counter and walked over to examine the list. She cringed at the choices of _scrub the entire bathroom _and _shampoo all carpets in house._ Those seemed to scream of hard , Lunetta chose something that seemed simple enough. In fact, she wondered why Saffir had never assigned her to do the task before.

"I'll do the grocery shopping," she said.

"Um, are you sure?"Saffir asked. Lunetta heard the reluctance in her voice.

"Oh, come on, how hard could it be?"Lunetta asked.

Saffir sighed. "'Netta, do you remember the time I asked you to pick me up a carton of juice from the store near our old house?"

Lunetta thought for a moment. "Yea, I think so. What about it?"

"What did you come home with?" she asked.

"Two gallons of peanut butter fudge ice cream." She smiled.

"Exactly," Saffir said, putting her hands on her hips, "you can't pay attention long enough to get what you're there for and then get out."

Lunetta crossed her arms. "I can too!"

"Oh really," Saffir said, a smirk creeping onto her face. Lunetta nodded, "Alright then. Let's make a bet. If you come home with only the groceries I have on the list I'll do everything that needs to be done around her for the next month, but if you don't, you do everything. Deal?"

Lunetta laughed. "Deal, this is going to be easy."

"What in the _hell _have I gotten myself into?" Lunetta asked herself as she made her way around the supermarket. She had spent the last four hours trying to find everything on Saffir's stupid list. It probably wouldn't be taking her so long, but just as her sister had expected, Lunetta was having trouble staying on task.

Throughout the day Lunetta's mind had been drifting towards a young man. Sweet and funny, George was one of the most unbelievable men she had ever met. It had been about two weeks since he first walked into the café and Lunetta hadn't stopped thinking about him since. She loved how _complicated_ he seemed. She could tell by his eyes that deep down he was hurting severely. And for some strange reason unbeknownst to her, she wanted to help take away that hurt. Saffir said she was going crazy, Melanie, the café's hostess, said she was falling for him.

In Lunetta's mind, they were both ridiculous.

Lunetta was spontaneous, caring, and even a little ditzy, but she was not a complete moron. She knew to never fall for someone so fast. According to Saffir, she didn't ever need to fall for anyone. They were all each other needed, she would say. Lunetta agreed. She couldn't imagine anything better than a life where it was just her sister and her.

But still, no matter how hard she tried, Lunetta could not get him out of her head.

Lunetta looked at the list her sister had given her again. She had almost gotten everything she needed. She headed over to another part of the store to look for the last few items on the list. As she was busy looking at the list again (there was no way she was bringing something home that wasn't on that damn list, she was _not_ doing all the cleaning for a month)suddenly she felt someone collide with her. As she stumbled she looked up to see a man in a very peculiar outfit staring at her.

"Oh miss, I'm so sorry! Excuse me, I really didn't see you there." He said. Lunetta knew she should respond, tell the man that it was fine and not to worry about it, but she really couldn't stop staring at his clothes. He was wearing a brightly colored t-shirt, a powder blue hat with a rather large flower on top of it, and a kilt. She would assume it was just someone her age or younger goofing around, but the man looked to be in his mid-forties. Lunetta mentally shook herself and smiled at the man.

"Its fine sir. Excuse _me_, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." The man seemed relieved that she wasn't upset. He smiled at Lunetta, apologized again, then walked off. Lunetta looked at the list again, and headed off to finish the shopping.

As Lunetta was leaving the store, she saw the man again. He was looking around to see if anyone was near before he ducked around a corner. Curiosity got the better of Lunetta, so she walked over to where the man had just run off to. Right before she made it to the corner, she heard a familiar _crack_ noise. She hurried around the corner, but the man was gone.

Finally Lunetta made it back to the flat she and her sister shared. They had moved into it over a year ago. It was their way of starting over. A lot of things had happened in America. Things they both would rather forget.

"I'm back!" she called. Lunetta walked into the kitchen and set the bags on the floor.

"Hey!" she heard her sister call from the bathroom.

Lunetta smiled and walked to where Saffir was. She had to stop herself from laughing when she saw her sister. Saffir's hair was tied up into a loose bun, with strands of blue and black hair hanging around her face. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and a pair of old sweatpants.

"You look so funny doing that," Lunetta said, leaning against the door frame.

"Doing what?" Saffir asked from where she was sitting. She was scrubbing the bathroom floor.

"Manual labor," Lunetta joked.

Saffir glared and stood up.

"Well, it's not like I can use _magic_ to clean it up."

Lunetta's face went blank. "Why would you even want to?" she mumbled. Saffir saw the look on Lunetta's face and smiled apologetically.

"I wouldn't," she said. She turned to stare at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, "I hate magic."

Lunetta pulled on a strand of her hair, "How could you not?"

"Gosh I love magic," Ginny said as she and George each waved their wands once more around the living room, making sure everything was clean. Ginny had stayed behind at the Burrow to help George help their mother clean.

"How could you not Gin'?" George asked smiling as he looked around the now spotless room, "Can you imagine how long it would have taken us if we hadn't used magic?"

Ginny smiled, "I think our grand kids would have finished Hogwarts by the time we'd gotten this room cleaned."

George laughed. "You're probably right. So, what next?"

"Well, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I were going out to Diagon Alley for a little while, do you want to come with us?" she asked. She had a hopeful smile on her face.

George smiled back. Ever since he started going to the Full Moon Café every night, George had finally started wanting to do other things.

"Sure," he said, "Sounds fun."

**A/N: Well, there's the next chapter, it took me a little while to do this one. I didn't know how to really expand on Lunetta's character. I hope you liked it. If you have any questions about Lunetta and Saffir's conversations, please feel free to ask! Well, I'll update soon. Later!**


	4. Memories Hurt The Worst

**A/N: So FINALLY I'm done fixing up those first three chapters. Now we can start with the new ones. SO I'm skipping the super long authors note! Whoo!**

**I do not own anything by J K Rowling**

_Recap: Lunetta and Saffir spent the day doing chores around the house. While Lunetta was out at the supermarket she saw a strange man in bizarre clothes. When she went to go around the same corner he had, he had suddenly disappeared._

_**Chapter 4: Memories Hurt The Worst**_

George sat behind the counter at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, trying to stifle a yawn. He watched as a group of young kids dragged their parents from to shelf to shelf, the kids eyes becoming wider and wider as they took in all of the loud, brightly colored merchandise. George smiled to himself, The store was still doing great. _Fred would be thrilled to see all these people. _George thought. George felt the cloud of sadness descend upon him again at the memory of his brother. He shook his head. Now was not the time. He had customers to attend to. George made his way around the counter and walked over to that group of kids, ready to explain and demonstrate anything they were interested in.

After they had been rung up and left, the kids squealing in delight at what they'd bought, George glanced around at the store again, watching as Verity helped show a man to the back room. He saw someone with untidy jet black hair making their way up towards the counter. George grinned as Harry made his way through a crowd of people standing in front of the shelves containing the Skiving Snackboxes. George saw that he was carrying a baby with bright turquoise hair. The baby was leaning on Harry and drooling on his shirt. Harry carefully moved the baby so as to get a better grip on him. He stopped at the counter and grinned at George.

"Hey." Harry said.

"Hey, Harry. Hi, Teddy," George said smiling at the baby. Teddy just gurgled and stared at George. George grinned again and looked back at Harry. "Why are you carrying him yourself? Didn't you bring anything to put him in?"

Harry gave George a sheepish look. "I left it at Andromeda's. I didn't think he had gotten this heavy." Harry shifted Teddy again.

"Well, give him here," George said, reaching for Teddy. Harry handed him over. Teddy immediately snuggled into George and began drooling again. "You're a drooly little thing, aren't you?" he said, watching Teddy.

"So, George," Harry said. George looked at him. Harry was shuffling his feet,he looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but around George at the moment.

"Yeah, Harry?"

Harry looked up at him. "I, well I mean Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and me, well we were wondering if you'd want to come up to Hogwarts with us tomorrow?" Harry bit his lip. George understood now why he'd seemed so uncomfortable. _I wonder how he got stuck with this job? _No one had asked George if he wanted to help with the rebuilding. There was no point. He'd have refused. The thought of going back there, well frankly it scared him. George was afraid all the painful memories of seeing his friends, and brother, dead would come crashing down on him if he set foot near the school. He knew he was being selfish. Plenty of people had lost loved one during the battle, and he knew that those families had been some of the first to volunteer. He'd read about it in the _Daily Prophet. _But he just couldn't bring himself to do it. George looked at the baby in his arms again. _Remus and Tonks' baby..._ George took a deep breath.

"Alright." he said.

"You will?" Harry said, looking shocked but happy that he had agreed, "Great! We're heading over there tomorrow after breakfast.."

George nodded, not taking his eyes off Teddy.

"See you lot when you get back!" Molly called after them as they headed away from the Burrow. George was headed to Hogwarts with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. They were supposed to meet Percy and Bill in Hogsmeade, then they'd go up to the school together. After they apparated to Hogsmeade, they walked over to the Three Broomsticks. Percy and Bill were outside waiting, talking to one another. When they made their way up to them, Bill looked at George surprised.

"George! I didn't know you were coming." He said, walking over and clapping his brother on the back.

George smiled. "Just decided yesterday."

"Good, shall we go up then?" They all nodded then made their way up to the school.

Hogwarts was still magnificent, even in its slightly torn apart state. Then grounds had been cleared and fixed so that it would have been impossible to tell that a battle had been fought on it. The castle stood against the sky as impressive as ever. The walls seemed to have all been fixed on the outside. The group went inside. George looked around. Most of the damage had been been repaired from what he could see. George followed the rest of the group as they went into the Great Hall. A large group of people were already there, waiting to begin the day. A very official looking man in plain black robes was directing everyone to where they would be for the day. George waited his turn to be placed. Finally the man told him he would be with the group working up near the astronomy tower. The man dismissed everyone as George headed up that way.

George felt like he was being smothered. The feelings of loss and pain were pushing down on him. He had been at Hogwarts for about two hours, and he honestly couldn't believe he'd made it that long. Every hallway reminded him of Fred. Every portrait, or empty classroom, reminded him of all the pranks he'd pulled with his brother and all the trouble they'd gotten into pulling them. Being there at Hogwarts made the pain ten times worse. As he helped to put up a new wall in one of the hallways George wondered what Fred would say to him. _He'd probably tell me to man up some. _George smiled to himself. Yes, Fred probably would be exasperated with his twin brother. There's no way he would let George wallow in his self pity. George exhaled loudly. He wanted to leave, badly. But he didn't want to upset his family. They really thought he was finally getting better. And he was, somewhat. But he was _not_ ready for this. George looked at the others in his group. They were busy chatting with each other. They wouldn't see him leave. George carefully crept away from the group. He walked down a set of stairs. As he was headed towards another hallway, George heard voices. After a second he realized it was Percy and Bill. He walked silently forward, hoping his brothers would not hear him.

"I just think Father's right, Bill" he heard Percy say. _Right about what?_ George wondered.

"Percy, he's fine. He came with us today, didn't he?" Bill said. His tone was a little irritated. George listened closer.

"I know he did. But he's barely spoken to _anyone_ today. I think Mum and Dad are right to be worried. I think that maybe he does need some help. He's not handling this well-"

"None of us are _handling_ this well Perce'," Bill interrupted. "And I can't blame George for taking this worse then every one else. Fred was his _twin, _ Percy, they were closer to each other then any one else. He just needs a little more time."

"What if 'a little more time' is too late," Percy said quietly, " I don't think any of us could stand to lose another brother."

That was it, George had heard enough. He quickly and quietly made his way back and around to a short cut he and Fred had used when they were still students. Is that what Percy really though? That he would... and his parents apparently thought so too. Did his entire family think he was that far gone? They had no faith in him. He knew he would never..._hurt_ himself. Fred would never forgive him if he did...

George had finally made it back outside. He had been so immersed in his thoughts he hadn't really been paying attention to where he was going. George took a shuddering breath. He _needed_ to get out of here. He ran towards Hogsmeade. He would owl his mother later and let her know he was alright. He just needed to be alone right now.

"Saffir! Have you seen my rag?" Lunetta asked, setting another chair down in its place. She and her sister were helping Pop set up before he opened the café.

Saffir came through the door that lead to the kitchen. She threw a red dust rag at Lunetta's head.

"You left it in the kitchen." she said.

Lunetta picked the rag up from the chair seat where it had landed. She began wiping off the tables.

"So..." Saffir began, "Is your little _friend _coming by again tonight?" Her tone seemed angry.

Lunetta looked up, guarded. She'd wondered when Saffir would confront her about her budding friendship with George. She knew Saffir would immediately dislike him. She was just too protective of her little sister.

"I don't know, he might." Lunetta answered slowly.

"He comes by a lot for some one you've only known a couple of weeks, don't cha think?" Lunetta put her hands on her hips.

"Just get to the point, Saffir. I know you don't care about how often he comes in. What don't you like about George?"

Saffir huffed. "He's not good for you." she stated.

"How so?" Lunetta asked.

"I don't know exactly 'how so', I just know he isn't." Saffir had walked over to stand directly in front of her sister. Lunetta was just a few inches taller than her sister, but Saffir's stubborn-as-a-bull attitude easily made up for the height difference.

"_You don't even know him, Saffir," _Lunetta said, her anger at her sister rising. Saffir always did this. She tried to control every aspect of Lunetta's life. Saffir said it was "to protect her." Lunetta didn't buy it though. Protect her from what? Anything dangerous they had left behind in America. Saffir just needed someone to boss around.

"I know enough from what you've said about him! He's got too much baggage, 'Netta, he's not good for someone like you!" Saffir was yelling now. Lunetta knew Pop would soon emerge from the kitchen, wondering 'what all this ruckus was about?' His southern accent thick. Pop was from America too. Texas, if Lunetta remembered correctly.

"What do you mean, 'someone like me'?" Lunetta asked quietly.

Saffir faltered. She suddenly looked anxious. "You know...you're kinda..._fickle."_

"You mean, I'm a total flake who always runs off when the goings get tough." Lunetta said. She could feel angry tears welling up in her eyes. She knew it was sort of true. It _was_ Lunetta's idea to run away from home to London, just because she was afraid. But that didn't mean she would always run away from everything. And it hurt to think that Saffir thought she would.

"No, 'Netta, I didn't mean it like that-"

"Just drop it, Saffir!" Lunetta said angrily. She went over to the booth where she had laid her jacket, "Tell Pop I'll be back in time for my shift."

"Lunetta, wait!" Saffir called after her.

"Just leave me alone!." Lunetta said, slamming the door shut behind her.

George laid in his bed, staring at the ceiling of the small flat above his shop. He hadn't entirely wanted to come here, but he couldn't think of any other place to go where he could be totally alone. The entire place smelled of dust. George had nearly had a sneezing fit when he'd first apparated into the room. But the mountain of dust that laid over everything was understandable. George hadn't been in the flat since Fred had died.

George rolled over onto his side and stared at the shadows cast by the small light on the table beside him. He'd owled his mother a couple of hours ago and told her he wouldn't be coming home tonight. George felt his eyes getting heavier. The day had been exhausting, emotionally more than physically. All he wanted to do was sleep, and possibly never wake up. George pulled the blanket up from underneath him and snuggled down in it. It was a little cold in the room.

After a few more minutes of staring at the wall, George finally fell asleep, thinking about Hogwarts, and Fred, and exactly what he could throw at Percy's head for suggesting that he needed help...

**A/N: Well, that was it. What do you think? I think it turned out pretty well. I'll update soon.**


	5. Dinnertime And Story Time

**A/N: Here's chapter five! Sorry this took a couple of days to post, but I've been kinda busy with work and stuff. I'll try to make sure there isn't to long of a wait between chapters. Well, dumb authors note is dumb. READ ON!**

**I do not own anything by J K Rowling **

_Recap: George had finally gotten the courage to go help with Hogwarts rebuilding, but unfortunately it proved to be a little too much for him. While trying to leave early without anyone seeing, George overheard Bill and Percy talking about him. Percy saying that "__maybe he does need some help." George left and went to the flat he and Fred used to stay in above their joke shop, upset that his family didn't trust him. Meanwhile, Lunetta and her sister Saffir fought about George and whether or not he was good for Lunetta._

_**Chapter Five: Dinnertime And Story Time**_

George awoke to the overpowering smell of dust. The morning sun was shining in from the window across from where he was laying. George shielded his eyes from the blinding light and sat up. _Where am I?_ He thought. He looked around the small room. _Oh, right._ Now George remembered. He was in the flat he and Fred used to stay in sometimes, above their joke shop. He'd come here yesterday, after he'd heard Bill and Percy talking about him. George threw the blanket off him and stood up. It was still a little cold in the flat. George walked out of his old room and headed towards the bathroom. He turned the water on in the shower, checking to make sure it was the scalding hot temperature he preferred on cold mornings like this. He stripped out of the grungy jeans and t-shirt he'd fallen asleep in and stepped into the spray. He began to relax as the hot water eased his tense muscles. George dipped his head directly into the stream of water, relishing in the feeling of it soaking his hair and running down his bare back. He looked around the small shower. Finally he found the shampoo and soap he'd left before he'd stopped living in the flat. George popped open the bottle of soap and sniffed. It was George's favorite brand. The smell was very unique. It was an almost earthy, leathery fragrance. He remembered how Fred would always joke at him, saying he was a little too obsessed with how his soap smelled. George smiled at the memory, and began to wash.

After over an hour had passed, George shut the water off. He stepped out of the shower, water dripping off of him onto the floor. George grabbed his wand from the pile of dirty clothes on the floor and summoned his a towel from the shelf on the other side of the bathroom. When he'd finished drying off, George tossed the used towel onto the floor. He summoned another one and wrapped it securely around his waist.

George stepped out of the bathroom and made his way back to the bedroom. He passed a closed door. George stopped and slowly turned around. _Fred's room._ He walked over and reached for the doorknob. His hand was shaking as he turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Fred's room was _exactly_ how Fred had left it. The bed was unmade. His pajamas were laying on the floor. A basket of clean laundry was sitting on the table beside Fred's bed, waiting to be put away. Fred's magenta robes he wore to the shop were in a pile at the foot of his bed.

George felt a lump rise in his throat as he blinked back tears. He quickly grabbed the door and slammed it shut again. He shouldn't have come here. He should have just gone back to his parents house. He'd take his mother's worried glances and his families quiet whispers about his state of mind over the heart wrenching pain he felt right now.

Why did he have to open that damn door? He should have known how much it would hurt to see Fred's room like that, as if the mess inside could wait. As if Fred would be back in just a little while...

George leaned forward, pressing his forehead against the cool wood of the door. He was angry with himself. He'd felt fine when he woke up this morning. Which was surprising, because George had been sure that this would be the one place he could never go again. He'd thought the memory of his brother would be too strong, too painful.

But no, the only place that made George want to cry out in agony was Fred's old bedroom. And George had been stupid enough to look in there.

George let out an angry sigh and pushed away from the door. He made his way back to his room. Once he'd closed the bedroom door he unwrapped the towel from around his waist and threw it onto the floor. He wasn't too concerned about walking around naked, who on earth would see him? Besides, it brought up the funny memory of Fred threatening that if he ever walked in on George roaming about naked after a shower, he would hex him into the next millennium. George snorted with laughter, ignoring the pang in his heart at the thought of his brother.

George walked over to the closet to find some clothes to wear. Even his clothes had managed to get a layer of dust on them. George grabbed a slightly worn blue jumper and an old pair of jeans from the closet. He laid them down on the bed and used his wand to siphon the dust off of them. He put on the jumper, which felt a little baggy, though George couldn't imagine why. He grabbed the jeans and pulled them on. They hung low on his waist and when George moved to find his trainers they slipped down a little. George yanked them back up, but they just slid down again. _Have I lost weight?_ He wondered. He grabbed his wand from the bed.

"_Accio_ belt." A belt came flying over from a corner of the room. George caught it and put it on, tightening it as much as he could so that his jeans were somewhat wearable. He found his trainers and slipped them on. George 's stomach started rumbling. Knowing better then to think that any food in the flat had managed to stay good in the months George had been gone, George left the flat, thinking maybe he'd find something to eat in muggle London.

George left the supermarket, slipping the little bit of muggle money he carried with him back into his wallet. George considered going straight back to the flat with the things he'd bought to eat (Some crisps and some things to make a sandwich), but he really didn't feel like being cooped up at home. _Home..._ George suddenly wondered what his mother was going to say to him when he went back to the burrow. He hadn't explained much to in the note he sent her. All he'd said was we wasn't coming home that night and to not write back because he would be sleeping. She was probably worrying herself sick. George remembered what Percy had said to Bill, about how he was worried he might "lose another brother." Is that what his mother thought to? That if she wasn't constantly watching George, she might lose another one of her sons. George didn't understand where his family got the idea that he was depressed from. Yes, he took Fred's death hard. Yes, he still wasn't getting over it or moving on, but it was just like Bill had said the day before, Fred was his twin, of course he would be taking this harder than anyone else.

George walked around London, not really paying attention to where he was going. He was too busy wondering what else his family thought was wrong with him. As he passed a muggle clothing store he heard a familiar high pitched voice just a little ahead of him. George looked up to see Lunetta waving goodbye to the blonde hostess at the Full Moon Café, Melanie, if George remembered correctly. George stopped. He wanted to go up and speak with Lunetta, badly, but he'd never talked to her outside of the Café. He didn't know what to say. It was easy to talk with her when she was at work, but seeing her out in public made George realize that she is in fact a muggle, so he had to be careful about what he'd say. He saw Lunetta turn to walk away. George took a deep breath and called out "Lunetta!"

She turned around, her long ginger hair flowing with the movement. Her large blue eyes grew even larger at the sight of George.

"Hey!" she called back, smiling, the dimples in her cheeks even more present. She walked over to where George. George stood there smiling, watching as her hair swung back and forth with every step she took. She stopped in front of George. She looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

George was at a loss for words. He was too distracted by warm, cinnamon smell that must have been Lunetta's perfume. Lunetta was staring at George, clearly wondering why he hadn't said anything yet.

"H-how have you been?" George stammered. Lunetta grinned, seemingly amused by George's nervousness.

"Good. How about you? You haven't come by the café for a few days now."

George ran a hand through his hair, a habit he'd thought he'd gotten rid of ever since he lost his ear, "I've been well. Sorry about not stopping by, I've been helping out...family these past few days."

"Oh, well that's nice of you." Lunetta said, smiling at him again. George stared at Lunetta. He couldn't think of anything else to say. The smell of Lunetta's perfume was really making his mind wander. George looked away from her, trying to find something else to talk about. A small restaurant across the street caught his eye. It reminded George of the place he and Fred would go to to eat whenever they were staying in the flat. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"I know it's a little sudden, but would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night." George held his breath, hoping she'd say yes.

Lunetta considered George for a moment, then the biggest smile he'd seen on the girl yet broke across her face. "I'd love to."

George was running about the flat, trying to get ready so he wouldn't be late for his date with Lunetta. He'd decided to stay at the flat for another night. It had seemed like a much better idea then going back to the burrow. He didn't want to be around his family at the moment. He knew they'd all be asking where he had been the past three days. His mother had already owled him yesterday afternoon, wondering where he was, if he was okay, and when was he coming home? George had sent a letter back with her owl, saying he was fine, and he'd be home by tomorrow.

When he was finally ready, George grabbed his wallet and his wand, sticking them both in his jacket pocket. He checked to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything, then left the flat. The cool November air made George shiver as he left Diagon Alley. _I can't believe its November already._ George hadn't even noticed the passing months. Yes, he'd been there to say goodbye to Ginny when she'd left for her last year at Hogwarts in September. (The school had been fixed enough by then so they could hold classes, though he'd heard that some classes had to be moved to new rooms.) But even then, he hadn't been paying attention to how much time had passed since Fred's death. George heads into muggle London and sets off on the familiar route to the Full Moon Café. He and Lunetta agreed to meet there, then head off to the place George had thought of together.

As George turned the corner and headed up to front of the Café, he saw Lunetta standing there. She looked beautiful. Her long hair had been pulled back into a low ponytail, with two curled strands framing her face. She wore a white dress that fell to her knees and a tan pair of boots. As George neared he smelled that same cinnamon scented perfume. He called out to her. She turned around, smiling at him.

"Hey, George." Lunetta greeted him. George smiled back at her

"Shall we get going?" he asked.

They set off, chatting about how work was for Lunetta. When they reached their destination, George held the door open for Lunetta. She smiled at him and entered, George following close behind.

The pub was brightly lit and very crowded. Large groups of people were yelling back and forth to one another. The bar staff was going back and forth, getting drinks for those who wanted them. George asked Lunetta what she wanted, then while she went to find a place for them to sit, George went and got their food and drinks.

George made his way to the table, balancing their orders in his arms. He set everything down, then sat in his chair. Lunetta leaned towards him.

"So..."

George looked at her. "So."

Lunetta smiled. "Tell me about yourself." She took a long sip of her drink, her eyes still on George.

George picked up his fork, and took a bite of his food.

"What would you like to know?" he asked.

"Anything," Lunetta said, sitting up straight again, "what do you do for a living?"

George thought carefully about his answer, trying to come up with something that was still close to the truth, but would still make sense to a muggle. George wasn't exactly sure if they had joke shops like his in the muggle world, so he settled with saying " I own my own shop."

"Really? What kind of shop?" Lunetta asked. George hesitated again, then decided to just go with it.

"It's a...joke shop." Lunetta's eyes brightened with delight.

"That's so cool!" she said, "I love those. They make me feel like a little kid again whenever I go in one."

George smiled. " My mother was very against the whole idea of it at first, she wanted me to get a more 'adult' job. Something like what my older brothers do."

"You have siblings? How many?" Lunetta took a big bite of food, then covered her mouth as she chewed, "Sorry, I'm a messy eater." she mumbled.

George smiled. "S'alright. And I have five siblings. Three are older brothers and I have a younger brother and sister." Lunetta's eyes widened.

"Wow, so you don't have anyone your age in your family?"

"Well..." George busied himself with eating more of his food and taking a large gulp of his drink. He wanted to tell Lunetta about Fred, he felt like he could talk about him to her, but he didn't want to get upset and ruin their date.

"Well?" Lunetta said. She leaned in again.

"I...I _ had_ a brother my age. A twin, actually. But he...passed away." George said quietly. He twisted his fork around in his hands, not looking at Lunetta. She reached over and grabbed one of his hands.

"I'm sorry," she said, "If you don't mind me asking, how did he die?"

"He was killed," George said before he could stop himself. Something flashed in Lunetta's eyes, she tightened her hold on his hands.

"I'm _really_ sorry, George. I know that's a hard thing to get over."

"My family seems to think I should be over it by now." he mumbled, irritated.

"'Every person grieves differently. Some take longer than others,'" she said, "That's what my sister would always say to me when someone would say something about my mothers death."

"Your mother's..."

Lunetta nodded. "Actually, she was killed, too. The man who killed her was never caught. That's why my sister, Saffir, and I left America. Too many bad memories." George nodded. He could understand wanting to leave some place because of all the painful memories.

"Is your sister, Saffir did you say, older or younger?" George asked, trying to change the topic to something a little less..._emotional_.

"Older," Lunetta stated. She grinned suddenly, "I'm surprised you've never heard her, all the times you've been to the café."

"_Heard_ her?"George asked. Lunetta laughed.

"She's the head cook there. And she's very vocal. She usually ends up screaming at the same girl every night for doing something wrong. She's even thrown food across the kitchen at her." George laughed.

Later that night, George walked Lunetta home. She'd said her flat wasn't far from the pub they were eating at. As they rounded the corner, Lunetta looked up at George.

"You should come by the café a little early tomorrow. We open around three."

George smiled at her. "Sure, that sounds great." they'd stopped at the steps that lead to her flat. Lunetta was smiling at him, her dimples showing. The smell of her cinnamon perfume was starting to distract him again. He barely noticed as he leaned down toward her and pressed a gently kiss to her lips.

After saying goodnight and watching Lunetta walk up the steps to her home, George rounded the corner and disaparated back home to the burrow.

Percy stood there in awe, watching his younger brother George kiss the red haired girl goodnight, then apparate off. Maybe Bill was right, maybe George was doing just fine.


	6. Reasons Why

**A/N: Here youuuuuu gooooooo! I was gonna post this chapter a little sooner, but I got a little distracted. Last Monday was my birthdayyyyy! :) On a less-birthday-filled note, my friend practicalgillian (who is on here) has offered to read over and edit this story for me, because no matter how many times I do it myself I always seem to miss a bunch of stuff. Which is very obvious from the last chapter. I almost had a fit when I saw all the grammar and spelling mistakes I'd missed! Gah! So I have to give her lots of LOOOOVE, to say thank you! :) Well my little chillin's , I'll quit boooring you to death! READ LIKE THE WIND!**

**I do not own anything by J K Rowling **

_Recap: George went out to dinner with Lunetta. They spent the night learning about each other and each others families. Afterwards, George walked Lunetta home and kissed her goodnight. Unbeknownst to George, Percy was standing right around the corner, and he saw the whole thing._

_**Chapter 6: Reasons Why**_

George walked down the steps at the burrow, clad in his thick black pajama pants and an old oversized gray t-shirt, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted in from the kitchen, making Georges' stomach rumble. George pushed the door open, yawning hugely as he did so.

His parents and brothers Bill, Charlie, and Percy all sat around the small wooden table. His brothers and father each had a plate loaded with food in front of them. A newspaper was spread out on the table in front of his dad. Arthur frowned as he read. His brothers were mumbling to one another, their food untouched. His mother was sipping a cup of tea, glancing anxiously at the paper. George grabbed a plate, then plopped down in his seat at the table ,and began piling eggs and toast onto the plate.

Arthur sighed heavily and closed the paper. "This is definitely something we don't need right now."

Bill nodded and began shoving the cold eggs around on his plate. "Let's just hope the Aurors can catch this one quickly."

George took a big bite of his breakfast and said, "Wazzgon on?"

His mother glanced at him reproachfully, "Don't talk with your mouth full George." George grinned impishly at his mother and swallowed the mouthful of food. "Sorry, Mum," George looked back at his father and asked again, "What's going on?"

Arthur took his glasses off and began to clean them with the sleeve of his robes. "It seems that an American wizard killed two muggle woman in London last night. The _Prophet_ also says one of our Aurors was injured trying to apprehend the wizard. Apparently he's been here a few weeks now, but he keeps finding ways to ditch the team trailing him."

"This is ridiculous. We just got out of a war. Some death eaters haven't even had their trials yet. We don't need someone else stirring up trouble." Molly said, slamming her tea cup down onto the table. Tea sloshed over the sides of the cup, forming a puddle around the base of the cup. Arthur patted her hand, and murmured reassurances to her, promising that they would catch him soon.

George saw Percy staring at him over the rim of his coffee cup. He turned to look at him, irritated. Bill and Charlie were still discussing the American wizard, and his mother and father had begun talking about Arthur's work at the ministry. So under the pretext of reaching for the salt, George leaned toward Percy. "Why exactly are you staring at me?" he mumbled. Percy's cheeks pinkened at being caught . He looked back down at his breakfast, mumbling "Not staring," while he did so. George saw him glance back up at him a few times, so he glared at Percy until he stopped.

George shoved the last remaining bite of his breakfast into his mouth and stood up from the table. "Excuse me, but I've somewhere to be this morning." He set his dishes in the sink and grabbed his jacket from the hook near the door. George had promised Lunetta he'd stop by the café a little earlier today, so he needed to head back to the flat to find something a little more _becoming_ to wear then just the baggy t-shirts and worn out jeans he kept at the burrow. He turned and smiled at his family. "Bye."

"Wait, George," his mother said. George faced her. "Aren't you going to change out of your pajamas?" George looked down at what he was wearing. He grinned and shook his head. "No, these will be fine until I get there." George slipped on his jacket, then sauntered out the door.

His mother gawked at the door, wondering where on earth her son could be going while still wearing his pajamas. Percy was also staring at the door. When he was sure George wouldn't come back he cleared his throat. "I believe George may have a girlfriend."

Shocked, everyone at the table turned to stare at Percy.

Lunetta was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing her long ginger hair. The mirror was a little clouded from the steam from the shower she just took. Lunetta set the brush down on the sink and gathered her hair in her hands. She began to twist it around, carefully braiding the seemingly unending strands. Lunetta always prized herself on how well she took care of her hair. The ginger color had come from her father, Eric, who was actually from London. It was her mother, Isabella, who had always kept her hair long. Lunetta didn't have anything left of her mother, so she kept her hair long, in an attempt to remember how it felt to have her mother brush and style her ginger locks. A knock sounded on the bathroom door. Lunetta turned to see Saffir standing in the doorway, holding a newspaper, and worrying her bottom lip. Saffir's mouth opened and closed wordlessly. Finally she just shook herself, and held the paper out to Lunetta. Lunetta let go of her hair, only slightly caring that the braid began to unravel immediately after being let free, and took the paper from her sister. Her eyes widened at the headline.

**AMERICAN WIZARD KILLS TWO INNOCENT MUGGLES AND INJURES AUROR**

Lunetta looked up at her sister again. Saffir gestured for her to keep reading. Lunetta nodded.

_Last night, an American wizard whose name is still unknown, was seen using the Killing Curse on two muggle woman. The only witness reported was an Auror, who shall remain nameless since the wizard accused of these murders eluded capture. Before being taken to St. Mungo's to be treated for injuries received from a duel with the wizard, the Auror was able to describe the wizard to fellow Aurors. Apparently this is the same man who was reported to have been destroying homes and other buildings in muggle London. A team of Aurors was assigned to follow this man. Said team refused to comment on how exactly he was able to escape them and attack the two muggle women. The women shall also remain nameless._

Above the article was a black and white picture of a street in what looked like London. This was no ordinary photo though. The people in the picture were actually moving. A group of very intimidating people dressed in dark flowing robes were gathered around a floating stretcher. Lunetta looked back up from the paper and at her sister. "Is this...?"

"You know exactly who it is." Saffir said. Saffir's chocolate brown eyes were full of fear, as if the man from the article was about to jump straight out of the newspaper and attack them both. Lunetta looked back down at the paper, and then crumpled it up.

"'Netta! _What_ are you doing?" Saffir yelled.

"I don't know what your worried about. It's not..._him._ He is back in America, _miles_ away from us. We're safe." Saffir just stared at her sister, her mouth hanging open in shock. Lunetta threw the crumpled up newspaper in the trash. "I don't even know why you get that stupid magical newspaper anyway." Lunetta mumbled as she started to braid her hair again.

Saffir glared at her sister. "Just because _you_ decided we had to live as muggles, it doesn't mean _I_ have to stay completely uninformed on what's going on in our world." Lunetta stopped what she was doing, and turned to face her sister again.

"You didn't have to come with me." she whispered, her voice even more high pitched from the overflow of emotions in it.

Lunetta watched as the anger visibly deflated from her sister. Saffir walked over and slid Lunetta's hair into her hands. As she braided it, she said, "You're my sister, of course I had to come with you."

George sat on the cold hard floor in front of the closet of his flat. It was still possible to tell that the place had been abandoned for a few months, but George had at least been able to remove most of the layers of dust that had covered his belongings. His old Charms textbook was perched on his left knee, open to the section that contained the household spells. George flipped through the pages, trying to find a spell that would help him with his dilemma. After George had apparated to the flat, he had immediately marched over to his old bedroom. He had spent the last hour trying on all the clothes he kept in that cramped little closet. To his dismay, not a single article of clothing fit. So George had dug the tattered old book out from a box he kept shoved underneath his bed, hoping he would be able to find a spell that could shrink his clothes to the appropriate size. Unfortunately, no such spell could be found. George angrily slammed the book shut with a _bang_! He chucked it over to the bed, where it landed haphazardly on the pillow. George stood up from his uncomfortable position on the floor and stretched. He took a deep breath and exhaled noisily, glaring at the contents withing the closet. He glanced at his watch and saw that he still had a good amount of time before he was supposed to see Lunetta. So he grabbed his favorite jumper, a navy blue one with white around the collar and the edge of the sleeves, and a nice pair of trousers, then apparated back to the Burrow.

When George opened the kitchen door and stepped inside, he saw that only his mother and father were left. His Father was still sitting at the table, pouring over the contents of that morning's _Prophet_, which was spread out so that it nearly covered the entire table. His Mother was at the sink, up to her elbows in soap bubbles, washing that mornings dishes the muggle way. At the sound of the door opening, she looked up. George greeted both his parents energetically, and moved to sit at the table with his father. Arthur smiled at George, then continued perusing the paper.

"What are you doing back so soon, and why are you still in your pajamas George?" His mother asked, eying his clothes distastefully. She moved over to the kettle and set to work making tea for the three of them.

"I needed your help with something." George stated.

His mother inclined her head to show she was listening. She sat a steaming cup of tea down in front of George and his father, the poured one for herself as she sat in the chair across from Arthur. George waited until his mother was settled, then asked, "Do you know a spell that can shrink my clothes?"

Molly's hand, which was reaching for the sugar, froze. She glanced at Arthur, who was now folding up the paper, his eyes focused on George.

"Why do you ask, Georgie?"

George grimaced at the use of his parents childhood nickname for him. "Don't call me that, Mum."

Molly smiled softly. "Sorry."

George took a sip of the hot tea, relishing in the feeling of the hot liquid sliding down his throat. "All my clothes back at the flat are two or three sizes too big. I need to fix them so I can wear them, but I can't find a spell that will do that."

"You've been back to the flat?" his father asked, his brow furrowing.

George nodded. He began picking at a loose piece of wood on the table. He hadn't told his parents that he'd been staying at the flat. He was sure Molly would make a big fuss about him going back there. She was sure him being around that place would only make him even more withdrawn. George liked being there, though. It made him feel like there was some kind of normalcy in his life again.

His Mother and Father shared a look again. "Why do you need them fixed all of a sudden? You have clothes to wear here." his mother said, sipping her tea.

George frowned. "I know, but that's something that's been confusing me. How come all my clothes _here _fit, but the ones at the flat don't? I haven't lost any weight."

Arthur sighed, and removed his glasses to clean them again. "Actually, George, you have."

George looked at his father, confused.

"I've been charming your clothes here to fit you." his mother murmured, refusing to look George in the eye.

"Why?" George asked. He pushed his cup of tea away from him angrily, not caring that it slopped over the sides and spilled on the table.

"You kept loosing weight!" his mother said defensively, "I've had to do it a couple of times now so that you had something to wear."

"Why didn't you _tell _me I was losing so much weight."

"I didn't want to give you another thing to be upset about." Molly's voice quivered as she looked at George.

Arthur replaced his glasses and grabbed Molly's hand, squeezing it tightly. "You haven't been eating George." he said, looking at George sadly.

George shook his head in protest, "Yes I have. Just this morning-"

"Let me rephrase myself," His Father said, his voice louder now to be heard over George, "Until recently, you've barely been eating. It's had your Mother and I worried sick. Look at yourself, George, how did you not notice how thin you've become? Not only that, but you have been distant, barely speaking to any of us. All you would do is lock yourself up in your room or bury yourself in work. It's like you were only going through the motions, not really living. In fact, if it hadn't of stopped when it did, I would have insisted that you get yourself some help."

George stared at his Father, his mouth hanging open in shock at his Fathers outburst.

"Was I really that bad?" George said, his voice cracking as he tried to hide the emotions that were building up inside of him. His Father nodded.

"We were so afraid," his mother said sniffling, "Afraid that if you didn't start to at least _try_ to life your life again, that well, maybe you would just decide to not _live_ at all." A few tears escaped, and ran down Molly's cheeks. George promptly stood up, and moved of to hug his mother.

"I'm sorry I worried you, Mum" He whispered, "I won't let it happen again."

Arthur smiled faintly at George, and handed Molly a handkerchief from his pocket. Molly cleared her throat, and dabbed at her eyes.

"Was there a _special_ reason you wanted your clothes fixed, George?" George stood up straight, blushing. He had a feeling his Mother knew he was going to meet a girl.

"N-no. I just really want them fixed is all." George stammered, refusing to look at either one of his parents as his face reddened even more.

Molly smiled knowingly, then stood up from the table. "Alright then, come with me and I'll show you how to do the spell."

George walked in the small café just a little after three, a little worn out from the emotional upheaval that had occurred that morning. The place was pretty much deserted, the only other customer was a middle-aged man who was muttering angrily to himself as he rifled through a folder full of papers. George watched as the man marked through a whole paragraph on one of the pages, shaking his head and glaring at the rest of the stack. Melanie, the hostess, walked up to George. "Hello George, follow me and I'll seat you." George smiled at her, and followed. She sat him at the same worn out red booth, and passed him the cloudy, faded menu. George muttered his thanks. Melanie smiled, and walked back towards the kitchen. George looked around for Lunetta, but she was no where in sight. George sighed, and began to comb through the menu. He was tempted at first to just order a cup of coffee like he normally did, but he'd promised his mother he'd start eating better, so he figured the best way to start would be actually ordering food for once. George jumped as someone beside him cleared their throat.

He looked up to see woman with thick black hair hovering over him. She had several piercings, and her hair had bright blue streaks throughout it. The only thing not intimidating about this woman was her soft, chocolate brown eyes. George saw that she was wearing a cooks uniform. Vaguely remembering that Lunetta had said her sister worked in the café with her, just as the head cook, George put his most charming smile on his face. "Hello," he said.

"Saffir," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"Lunetta's sister, right? The names George." George took Saffir's hand and shook it. He gestured for her to take the seat across from him.

Saffir sat, eying George in a way that he couldn't quite put a name on. George tapped his fingers on the table as the moment grew even more awkward.

Saffir huffed. "Look, let me just get to the point." she said, "I don't like you."

George stared at her in shock, "You've never even met me!"

"I don't care," Saffir glared at him, that look on her face again. Now George realized, it was utter loathing on her face. He didn't understand. How could someone he had never met dislike him so much? Saffir sat up straight, her body rigid in her seat, "I don't care that I've never met you. I don't care what Lunetta says about you. I don't care if she thinks that you and her have a lot of things in common, or that you two can understand each other because you've both _lost a loved one_. I don't trust you. I _know_ you are not the right person for her. So I'm warning you now," Saffir leaned forward and poked George hard in the chest, "If you ever hurt her, I will hunt you down and make sure no one _ever_ hears from you again." Saffir stood up and left. George sat there, gaping at her.

He saw Lunetta walk out of a door on the other side of the room, smiling when there eyes met. _Crazy sister or not, I have a feeling she's worth it._ George thought, standing up to greet Lunetta with a kiss on the cheek.

**A/N: Sorry it was so late! Hope you liked it!**


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